Obama, China's Hu exchange views on Taiwan, other issues

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's President Hu Jintao told U.S. President-elect Barack Obama in a telephone conversation that proper handling of the Taiwan issue would help improve Sino-U.S. ties, state media reported on Sunday.

Both countries should respect and accommodate the other's concerns and properly handle sensitive issues to promote Sino-U.S. relations to an even higher level, Hu was quoted as saying.

"Particularly the Taiwan issue," said Hu.

"The relationship between the United States and China is the most vital relationship on today's international stage," Obama said to Hu, according to the reports.

The exchange mirrors the message China issued to Obama after his election victory, which also urged him to halt $6.5 billion worth of arms sales to the self-ruled island.

China denounced last month a U.S. plan to sell the arms, including attack helicopters and missiles, to Taipei, and demanded Washington halt all military exchanges with Taiwan.

Obama, who enters the White House in January 2009, expressed support for the arms sales during his election campaign.

China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong's Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's U.S.-backed government fled to the island.

Hu will travel to Washington to attend a November 15 summit with other world leaders from the G-20 grouping of nations to discuss ways to fight a downturn in economic growth amid the global financial crisis.

Hu would attend bilateral meetings during the summit, but a meeting with Obama had not yet been fixed, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman has said.

(Reporting by Kirby Chien; Editing by Jerry Norton)